The Hiawatha Valley Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's time to start talking about the Hiawatha Valley NEAR the same way we talk about Big Nine and CLC as top outstate leagues, the talent level is that high!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Conference Commentary</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Ten in State: </strong>Stewartville, Lake City, Goodhue</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stewartville might have a chance to be a final four team in the state, and if the chemistry really forms, could they be playing in the Class AAA title game? Or are we getting way too excited for a team that is mostly juniors and sophomores? The Tigers did win the Breakdown Summer State Tournament that didn't have Totino-Grace and DeLaSalle but had everybody else. And these junior and sophomore classes are very, very good. They are a title contender. And so is Lake City (class AA). Remember that Lake City did lose Justin Wohlers, but they were still good when he was hurt. [player_tooltip player_id='1284140' first='Hunter' last='Lorenson'], [player_tooltip player_id='1284149' first='Jaden' last='Shones'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1225623' first='Ryan' last='Heise'] are all back and these are excellent players. As for Goodhue, they lost their horse in the middle but they have [player_tooltip player_id='962224' first='Will' last='Opsahl'] and this is a Class A team that will be more battled tested than any other Class A team because of their schedule. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Ten in State Potential</strong>: Byron</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bears had a rough previous winter. Not only did they lose their d1 big man, they also lost [player_tooltip player_id='962258' first='Isaac' last='Dearborn'] to injury. I expect a really nice rebound with Isaac back and [player_tooltip player_id='1297889' first='Tyler' last='Connelly'] and Max Dearbord ready for bigger roles. If the chemistry is right they could go from a top 20 Class AAA team to maybe sneaking into that Class AAA top ten here and there.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Compete with Most</strong>: Kasson-Mantorville, Rochester Lourdes, Pine Island, Zumbrota-Mazeppa</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kasson-Mantorville has a couple key players back but matching last year's 18 wins could be tough. They should be around .500 I believe. Lourdes should be around that area as well as I think they will take a step forward. Pine Island will pry take a step back from their 14-14 record with so many seniors gone but junior Nick Bauer should keep them competitive (along with a few others). And Zumbrota-Mazzepa struggled last season but they should be a little bit better with what they have back. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rebuilding:</strong> Cannon Falls</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They won a single league game last year and six games overall. They had a decent amount of seniors playing to which means they are likely about to rebuild. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>22-23 Conference Predictions</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol><li>Stewartville</li><li>Lake City</li><li>Goodhue</li><li>Byron</li><li>Kasson-Mantorville</li><li>Rochester Lourdes</li><li>Pine Island</li><li>Zumbrota-Mazeppa</li><li>Cannon Falls</li></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Preseason All Hiawatha Valley Conference</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>First Team</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='962224' first='Will' last='Opsahl'] of Goodhue (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1284140' first='Hunter' last='Lorenson'] of Lake City (jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1225623' first='Ryan' last='Heise'] of Lake City (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1139594' first='Henry' last='Tschetter'] of Stewartville (jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1226399' first='Parker' last='Dunham'] of Rochester Lourdes (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Second Team</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tegan Malone of Stewartville (jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='962258' first='Isaac' last='Dearborn'] of Byron (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kegan Ryan of Lake City (jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1198613' first='Parker' last='Wangen'] of Stewartville (soph)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1476739' first='Caleb' last='Bancroft'] of Stewartville (soph)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Third Team</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1297889' first='Tyler' last='Connelly'] of Byron (jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1284149' first='Jaden' last='Shones'] of Lake City (jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1225638' first='Kayden' last='Rodrick'] of Zumbrota-Mazeppa (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1575327' first='Max' last='Dearborn'] of Byron (soph)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1288690' first='Ayden' last='Helder'] of Stewartville (jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Fourth Team</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nick Bauer of Pine Island (jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1225627' first='Adam' last='Poncelet'] of Goodhue (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1221146' first='Jake' last='Hallstrom'] of Kasson-Mantorville (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1437172' first='Ethan' last='Lee'] of Kasson-Mantorville (soph)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Justin Buck of Goodhue (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->